I'll take the fifth
by K Pryde
Summary: Set instead of the fifth book, Harry Comes back to Hogwarts after the summer to find an exchange taking place. He seems to have a connection with one of the students but who is she?
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter woke with a start. A tapping noise was coming from his bedroom window. He reached over to his bedside table to find his glasses. Once he had found them and replaced them, in his waking stupor, at an odd angle on the bridge of his nose he looked up at his window. A disgruntled sounding Hedwig hooted from the confines of her cage as the tapping continued. All Harry could make out in the silvery glow of the moon that filtered through his curtains was that someone must be throwing a small grey ball of wool at his window to get his attention. Harry glanced at the clock on his bedside table. The luminous numbers told him it was 4:23. He sighed as the tapping resumed and got out of bed and made his way to the window. As he opened the window the small grey ball of fluff zoomed in and hit him square between the eyes. As Harry made a grab for it the little owl known as Pig flapped up and down in excitement. Harry finally managed to grab him long enough to remove the small piece of parchment tied to his leg before the little owl zoomed off around the room appearing to be having the time of his life celebrating his successful delivery.

As Hedwig hooted her disapproval Harry unrolled the parchment and read the note.

_Harry_

_Sorry about Pig he still gets over excited when I send a letter. Hope the Muggles have been treating you ok. Just heard some great news! Dad says the ministry have just been over- seeing another event at Hogwarts. Don't worry its not the Triwizard Tournament again! This time it's an exchange programme. Apparently some students from a school in America are arriving and staying with us for a term and then we go and stay with them the following term. See you tomorrow at Kings Cross._

_Ron_

Harry rolled the parchment back up and lay back down on his bed. An exchange sounded exciting. Hermione was always going on about magical co-operation. He hoped he'd get picked for the programme he'd never been to America. Come to think of it he'd never been anywhere. Whenever the Dursleys went on holiday they always left him with old Mrs Figg. Harry drifted back off to sleep dreaming about going to America.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry sighed as he lugged his trunk and Hedwig's cage across Kings Cross Station. His aunt, uncle and Dudley were following at a safe distance. He came to a halt outside the barrier of platform 9 ¾. He turned to look at the rest of his family.

"Well." Uncle Vernon said gruffly. " hurry it up then boy. Haven't got all day you know."

"Duddy-kins needs his new uniform." Aunt Petunia simpered.

"Ok then. Bye." Harry turned and lurched forward in the direction of the barrier. He broke into a run as he neared the wall that masked the entrance to the platform and passed silently through it, unnoticed by any passing muggles.

Once through the barrier he turned to look at the train in front of him. The Hogwarts Express was a scarlet steam train, just visible through the smog.

"Harry!"

Harry turned to see his best friend Ron Weasley striding through the crowd towards him.

"Hey Ron. How've you been?"

"Great thanks. We were wondering where you had got to. Come on, the trains leaving in five minutes!"

The two of them dragged Harry's luggage up the platform to one of the compartments at the end of the train. As they neared the doorway a girl with bushy brown hair stuck her head out.

"Oh there you are Harry! We were beginning to worry !" Hermione Granger declared.

"Hey Hermione. How was your summer?" Harry asked as he and Ron pulled his trunk up the stairs.

"Oh it was wonderful Harry! Rome was so beautiful! And all the historic sites were amazing!"

Once they were inside the compartment Harry put Hedwig's cage on a spare seat before sitting himself down next to Ron.

"So what was that exchange you wrote about in your letter?" he asked Ron.

"oh yeah. Dad said that this year we're having a class of American exchange students coming to stay. Supposed to help us learn about different wizarding cultures." Ron said as he rolled his eyes.

"Ronald!" Hermione looked taken aback. "I'm sure we will learn a lot this year. They are bound to have different customs to us. And I for one am looking forward to it."

"Of course YOU are." Ron surmised. "Anything that involves learning and it has you quivering in your robes."

Hermione looked at him darkly.

"Well" Harry laughed. "I'm going to get something off the trolley, you guys want anything?"

They shook there heads in response.

Harry got up and slid the door panel across. He could see the old lady with the trolley a few compartments down. He walked in her direction but stumbled suddenly as someone came out of one of the compartments he was passing.

"Watch it Potter!" Came the all too familiar drawl.

"Malfoy." Harry said through gritted teeth as he continued past.

"You'd think you'd be able to see scar head, I mean with those huge specs and all." Malfoy called after him. He could hear Crabbe and Goyle chortling as he continued walking.

The train was nearing Hogsmeade now and Harry Ron and Hermione made their way to the train exit. As they climbed off at the station They saw Hagrid ushering the first years in the direction of the lake.

"Wonder how the exchange students are getting here?" Ron mused.

They trudged up the dark slopes towards the carriages that would take them to the castle.

The three of them climbed into the carriage with Neville.

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way through the double doors at the entrance to the great hall. Enchanted candles floated near the ceiling casting a hazy glow on the rooms occupants. The four house tables were laid out in their usual places and the whole place made Harry feel like he'd finally come home.

As everyone made their way to their seats Professor McGonagall was walking down the centre of the hall with a stool in one hand and the sorting hat in the other.

The hall quieted down immediately as Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome back everyone. I trust you all had an enjoyable summer. Now some of you may know that this year the fifth year students will be taking part in an exchange program. The students who are from America arrived just before and they are waiting outside the great hall with the first year students. They too will be sorted into houses for the duration of their stay. Professor McGonagall if you would be kind enough to bring in the first year students we will sort them first."

Professor McGonagall bustled down the hall to the great doors and ushered in the startled looking first years. She made her way back to the sorting hat with the students in tow.

"When I call your name you will sit down on the stool and place the sorting hat on your head. Once you have been placed in a house you must go and sit at your house table." She instructed them. She then produced a list and started reeling off names.

Soon all the first years were sorted into their houses.

"Well done everyone." Professor Dumbledore said as he surveyed the hall over the top of his half moon spectacles. "And now without further a due please welcome the students of Magic School, California!"

The great doors opened once again and everyone craned their necks to see who would enter. A tall plump woman entered followed by a stream of girls all in muggle clothes.

"welcome everyone, this is the principal of Magic School Professor Alten."

The students milled to the front with their teacher. Professor McGonagall spoke again.

"The same applies to you students, you must sit on the stool and place the sorting hat on your head Once you are sorted you make your way to your house table." And with a wave of her wand banners appeared above each table declaring its house. Professor McGonagall began reading names off a list.

"Marguerite Anthony"

"Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table all cheered as Marguerite came to sit at their table.

"Danielle Doyle"

"Hufflepuff!"

More cheering ensued.

"Quinn Manetti"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Anna Marin"

"Slytherin!"

"Yale Potter……………"


	3. Chapter 3

A buzz went up across the great hall.

A Girl with mid length black hair and eyes as dark as the bottom of the ocean broke away from the students waiting to be sorted and made her way to the stool where the sorting hat was found.

She gingerly picked it up and placed it on her head.

_My, My!_

The Sorting hat exclaimed, projecting into her mind.

_I never thought I would be sorting you! Your brave yes but still it was always said you were the opposite. Your quick witted and cunning so I suppose it had better be_

"Slytherin!"

There was silence in the great hall. Then a cheer went up at the Slytherin table and the girl walked over and took a seat at the far end of the table along with the other Transfer students.

The sorting continued as one by one students filed up to the sorting hat and then continued on to their chosen house. Finally the last student was sorted and Professor McGonagall retrieved the Sorting hat and returned it to Dumbledore's office.

As she returned to her seat the food magically appeared on the gold platters along the tables. The Transfer students looked on in surprise but then began to dig in with the rest of the students.

As the feast came to an end Professor Dumbledore got to his feet once more and stood by the lectern waiting as silence fell.

" Announcements for this year are as follows. The Forbidden forest is still forbidden. Mr Filch has added to the growing list of banned items in the school. Anyone wishing to consult this list may do so in his office on the ground floor. And lastly we have a new member of staff this year. I am sure you will all give a warm welcome to Professor Umbridge who will be taking over the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

A smattering of applause went up mostly from the staff table. Dumbledore continued.

" As far as house teams go…"

"Hehem"

Professor Dumbledore stopped and turned as Umbridge made her way down from the staff table to stand in front of the long tables facing the students.

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore, for those kind words of welcome. The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of a vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be... prohibited!"

"Thank you Professor Umbridge. That really was most will be all, Prefects will lead the first years to the dormitories." Professor Dumbledore said as he headed back to the staff table.

The Students began to file out of the Great Hall. The transfer students following along behind the other students in their houses.

Yael followed her house down some stairs heading towards the dungeons. There was a sudden rush of air as Peeves zoomed past. Yael flattened herself against the wall as one of the statues collapsed onto the floor where she had been standing moments before.

"Peeves!" Filch shouted as he chased after the poltergeist heading towards the upper floors.

"Wow that was lucky you were nearly buried!" Said a seventh year Slytherin as the students picked their way through the debris.

"Yeah guess I am" Yael replied.

They made their way down a dimly lit corridor until they reached a painting of two snakes with ruby colored eyes, glistening in the light of the torches adorning the walls.

"Thistle Weed" one of the prefects said loudly and the snakes began to uncoil and the painting swung forwards.

Yael stepped over the threshold and entered the Slytherin Common Room. Like the hall outside it was dimly lit and adorned with green and silver hangings.

A group of students had clustered around the far wall and Yael headed over to see what was happening.

A notice was pinned to the board stating that all the transfer students would be paired with one of the Hogwarts students until they got the hang of the lessons and the layout of the castle.

Yael scanned the list until she found her name.

"Are you Yael?" A voice asked from behind her.

She turned around to find a boy with white blonde hair and piercing silver eyes staring at her.

"Yes are you Draco Malfoy?"

"Of course." He said with a smirk.

"Nice to meet you I'm sure" She said fluttering her eye lids and putting on a southern accent.

He laughed.

"If you head up those stairs on the left they'll take you to the girls dormitories. I'll meet you down here in the morning and take you to breakfast and your classes."

"That sounds great thanks" She smiled and waved as she made her way up into the girls dormitories.


End file.
